YMMV / Malèna

• Alternate Character Interpretation: The attitude of the women in town by the end. Do they treat Maléna decently because as a married woman they don't have to worry about their husbands leering after her? Or do they feel remorse for what they did, and it's their way of trying to atone for their crimes?
  • There's even a third option to this: Considering that when they first see her, they are clearly jealous of her beauty. Is another reason why they treat her decently because of the fact that she is now as homely as them and not the beauty they were snotty about at the start?
• Awesome Music: The theme, composed by Ennio Morricone.
• Best Known for the Fanservice:
  • Inverted into Fan Disservice. One of the most talked about details are the brief shots of a twelve-year-old boy's penis that appears in the uncut version.
  • The movie is known for its plentiful Monica Bellucci nudity, but that's not surprising, since the bulk of the movie is Renato fantasising about Maléna.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: The scene where Renato fantasizes that Maléna is dressed up as the Virgin Mary. It's not shot in the same dreamlike way that most of his other fantasies are, so it can be jarring to a viewer who thinks the parade is actually happening in the town.
• Crosses the Line Twice: The school boys play pranks on Maléna's father, exploiting his deafness. They ask things like "can I screw your daughter?" while pointing to the door, implying they're asking to use the bathroom. As such, him replying with Accidental Innuendos like "yes, but not all at once" is darkly hilarious.
• Do Not Do This Cool Thing: A few critics felt that the point that lusting after Maléna is damaging to her as a person was undermined by how gratuitous Renato's fantasies were.
• Fetish Retardant: The scene at the brothel, with all the whores teasing Renato and making faces at him. The way the scene is shot and lit makes it creepy rather than sexy. And it all happens during a bombing raid.
• Funny Moments: Renato masturbating in bed while fantasizing about Maléna, much to his parents chagrin. Come on, who wouldn't be laughing at his parent's reaction to him masturbating?
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Maléna at one point is fantasized dressed up as the Virgin Mary in a parade in the town. Four years later, Monica Bellucci plays Mary Magdalene in The Passion of the Christ.
• Moral Event Horizon: The Gossipy Hens cross it when they savagely beat Maléna up in the middle of the street. It's what finally drives her to leave town.
• Nightmare Fuel:
  • The scene where Maléna is attacked by the women is very hard to watch. Mind you, it was what happened to most of the women who slept with German soldiers.
  • The sudden bombing raid in town isn't pleasant either. You see all the people running away with no idea of where to hide from that hellish flock of planes. This is lessened if you feel that the townspeople in general get their just desserts for being such scum.
• She Really Can Act: Monica Bellucci received a lot of praise for her role in this. It managed to be something of a Star-Making Role for her, allowing her to get more film work outside her native Italy.
• Squick: The scene at the brothel comes across as this as well. You have all the women in the brothel surrounding Renato (who mind you, is around 12-13) and mockingly blowing kisses at him and making fun of him. The way the scene is done makes it more creepy than sexy.
• What Do You Mean, It's for Kids?: In Italy, the movie is considered a family film. The Italian cut has gratuitous female nudity in half the scenes, plenty of scenes of the young boy masturbating, scenes of domestic violence, the 13-year-old protagonist sleeping with a prostitute twice his age (although that was his father's idea) and the climactic scene of the women in the town graphically beating up Maléna in the street.
• The Woobie:
  • Maléna's life is just one big Trauma Conga Line. Thankfully her husband at least turns out to be alive and she gets a somewhat happy ending. Though you want to give her a hug all the same.
  • Renato can also be this for some. Puberty and hormones are making the women in his family (among possibly other women) freak out and perform embarrassing and sometimes cruel religious practices on him (for being horny). This eventually causes his abusive father send him to a brothel, all without his consent, just so his family can believe he is “normal again”. He also has to deal with the woman he loves go through hell on earth and feels powerless to stop it.

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